Listening In Never Sounded So Good

It’s sort of lazy to eavesdrop while riding the bus and then pass it off as reporting.

But sometimes you hear amazing things. The other day was just such an occasion.

Two girls who appeared to be about 15 were looking ahead to the upcoming school year. And they started talking about how some of their friends from last year weren’t really their friends anymore.

Then one of them said something interesting. She said that, in the matter of interacting with former pals, she had a role model.

It seems that a few years ago the girl who was talking had been close to a certain classmate. Then summer came and the two drifted apart.

So when the next school year rolled around, the two girls weren’t really in the same crowd anymore. They no longer hung out together. It happens.

But here’s what else the bus rider remembered. When she saw her old pal in the hallway or cafeteria, the other girl was always friendly and never failed to acknowledge her. It was as if this ex-confidant was showing respect for the time when they had been close.

The bus rider said that’s how she plans to act this fall. She wants her old friends to know she still likes them. Her seatmate nodded.

Maybe it wasn’t a big deal. But I had to suppress the urge to reach up and pat the girl on the shoulder and say, “Good for you.”

Every once in a while, you come across a kid who makes you think the future will be in good hands.

* Reader challenge: Find the one example of real life amid the sitcom themes.

a) guy pretends to be the head of his company to impress his wife’s former suitor.

b) guy’s mother-in-law turns him into chimp.

c) boy nicknamed after a rodent.

d) wife schemes to become part of her husband’s nightclub act.

e) couple mumble, worry about money and say “What?” a lot.

Yes, that’s correct.

* Slice answers: “When Milt Priggee did all those cartoons about you guys’ trip to Seattle, he made you look like a short, fat, probably balding guy with a baseball cap,” wrote Teresa Keene. “But then I heard your voice on the phone one day when you called to talk to me about a letter I wrote you and I thought you sounded like a tall, slender, handsome blond.’

“I think you probably look like a college age Joel Grey, only taller,” wrote Larrie Waterman.

* Today’s Slice question: Besides access to toilets that aren’t low-flow, what’s the best thing about our proximity to Canada?